HomePlate Staff

Starting with $3,000, a community need, and a vision, Bridget Calfee has been the director of HomePlate since its founding in 2005. Today, the organization is among the leaders in addressing homelessness and housing instability among youth in our region. Bridget holds a Masters of Social Work from Portland State University. She hails from Wisconsin and when not working she can be found outside doing any variety of outdoor activities with her husband Jeff and two sweet kids.

Kirsten is HomePlate’s full-time Development Director and has been a supporter for years. She brings a diverse background to this position having worked with families experiencing homelessness and domestic violence, started and managed several businesses, and fund/friend-raised for a number of grass-roots local and international organizations. She has three grown children and lived in Washington County for many years. She is also an artist who enjoys trips to the beach and woods with her dogs and her husband. She earned her Masters in Social Work from Portland State University.

Amber is HomePlate's Volunteer Coordinator. She holds a Masters of Social Work from San Diego State University and has a background working in volunteer coordination, youth programs, domestic violence, and social work research. Her professional interests include youth development, community organizing and volunteer development. Outside of work, Amber enjoys breadmaking, hiking with her husband and dog, and gardening.

Peter Kass is HomePlate's Employment Coordinator. He is prepared with employment information and skills-building resources for youth looking to get into a job, internship, or apprenticeship program. A Portland transplant since 2003, Peter recently graduated from Portland State University with a master's degree in Public Administration. He has worked for organizations treating youth with mental health and addiction issues both locally and abroad for a decade. His professional interests include leadership theory, meeting facilitation, and unconventional partnerships. When not working, he's riding his bicycle somewhere while listening to a podcast.

Bianetth Valdez is HomePlate’s Bilingual Outreach Worker. As of June 2016, Bianetth graduated from Portland State University with a Masters in Social Work. She also holds a Bachelor’s in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin (Go Longhorns!) She has almost 8 years of social work experience under her belt, working predominantly with low-income, minority youth in school settings. She is passionate about social and racial justice, anti-oppressive work, and housing/homelessness and is eager to do good work with under-served youth in Washington County. In her free time, Bianetth loves biking, hanging out with friends, reading, binge-watching on Netflix and advocating for affordable housing!

Erik is HomePlate’s Development Associate. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Earth Systems, Science and Policy from California State University Monterey Bay and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida. His professional background varies from political campaigning, environmental stewardship and University community radio. Erik loves to travel and experience new cultures, swim, surf, or do anything that involves being in/on water.

Joey is the Aloha/Beaverton Outreach Worker with a passion for helping unhoused and at-risk youth. After spending years living rough on the street, Joey came to the realization that the best way to use their lived experience is to pay it forward to organizations such as the ones that helped them in their time of need. With a background in film and photography, Joey came to HomePlate after working as a peer mentor with Outside the Frame, an outreach organization in Portland which focuses on teaching film-making to unhoused youth and teens. In their free time, Joey enjoys going to punk shows, playing the guitar, video games, and fighting injustice every step of the way!

Mari is our Hillsboro Outreach Worker with a heart for helping young people. Having lived in unstable living circumstances, as well as witness an immediate family member unhoused for years, she is passionate about serving at-risk youth and the unhoused in the community. in the summer of 2018 she worked as a counselor at the Salvation Army camp Kuratli for underserved youth. In her free time Mari is in tree pose (yoga), reading, or spending time with people.

Jennifer is passionate about the Latinx community as a proud Mexican American, making sure to advocate that representation matters. She graduated May 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in History from Pacific University. She had been involved with the Center for Gender Equity and the Multicultural Center, where her interests mainly flourished. In her free time, she likes to express being a nerd by heart, space lover, true crime fanatic, and music appreciator.

Merilou is passionate about giving back to the community and believes early intervention, guidance, and support for our youth is essential to breaking cycles and changing lives in a positive direction. Merilou received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. With her minor in Business, she has spent many years in the corporate world and, most recently, as an entrepreneur working as a Professional Certified Coach and a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. Merilou loves to paint, do crossword puzzles, and spend time with her friends and family. She loves the Northwest and our proximity to both the mountains and the ocean!

Hannah is a Jesuit Volunteer serving as the Outreach Specialist. She is from Minnesota and studied Public Health and Community Advocacy at the College of Saint Benedict. Hanna is interested in the social determinants of health such as housing and food systems, and she is passionate about developing happy and heathy communities! In her time in the Northwest, you can find her hiking, biking, reading, harvesting tomatoes, and searching for live music!

Brianna is a Jesuit Volunteer and HomePlate's Day Space Coordinator! She received her Bachelor's Degree in Communications and Peace & Justice Studies from Fordham University in New York City. She hails from Long Island, New York and loves cooking, reading, music, and spending time with her family.

DID YOU KNOW? HomePlate is Washington County's only non-profit provider of drop-in centers and street outreach for young people experiencing homelessness.